TermiFix Service

INITIAL INSPECTION & REPORT involving a complete thorough inspection of the subject building and surrounds. A detailed written report should supplied listing areas inspected, high risk termite entry areas inaccessible to inspection and termite control alternatives and limitations thereto recommended as essential.
Firstly, it is essential for the termite controller to complete a thorough inspection of the buildings and surrounds.
The property owner should be supplied with a written inspection report and detailed specifications for an integrated termite control program. It is essential requirement that such an inspection and report be carried out prior to a chemical soil treatment, and only a licensed pest controller actually apply the chemical soil treatment.

Special care and equipments can be used to detect a subsidiary termite nest contained within the building structure. This often occurs in wall cavities where moisture is regularly supplied therein from a leaking shower recess, broken roof tiles and faulty guttering or plumbing.

There are several types of termite control chemicals registered by the relevant State and / Government Authority for use in termite control as a soil treatment chemical.

WARNING: Some are solvent based pesticides which can cause health problems to asthmatics during the drying process.

The cost of a termite inspection report and quotation / treatment recommendations may be up to several thousand rupees for an average size dwelling, depending upon style of construction and ease of inspection access. Some companies offer a "free inspection" but many only carry out a superficial inspection and build the cost into their quotation / treatment proposals.

A professional termite inspection and report could save you thousands of dollars – specific areas inspected should include accessible timbers within the sub – floor, roof void, exterior and interior of the building and other timber structures, fences and trees within a 50 meter radius of the buildings but within the property boundary.

CONSUMER NOTE: Most home‐owners are unaware that their general home insurance policy does NOT cover
termite damage to structural timbers. However, appropriate professional indemnity insurance is available to
some companies to cover termite damage to structural timbers in a building caused by termites gaining entry
into a building through a chemical soil barrier.

The chemical soil barrier involves treating the soil at the base of a building with a registered termiticide
chemical, in accordance with the product label, that will deter termites travelling through that soil to get to the
timbers of the protected structure above.

If there are termites in the building, at the time of chemical soil treatment, they cannot safely return to their
central colony nest through the chemically treated soil. Termites are compelled to regularly return to their
central colony nest in the ground to obtain moisture essential for their survival and to feed and groom the
nymphs (young termites), the king, queen and other termites.

The installation of a chemical soil barrier requires expert knowledge and specialized equipment to form a
complete and continuous barrier to protect the building from a termite entry and infestation as illustrated
below:

Termidor and Premise are the safer effective products recommended – there are water based, odorless and
of low hazard to humans, dogs, cats, and other mammals. Both are registered as a low hazard insecticide
with a caution notation on the registered label. Fipronil – the active ingredient in Termidor has been use in
the USA, Australia and other countries, such as in Australia for flea and tick control on millions of cats and
dogs. Imidacloprid‐ the active ingredient in Premise has been use worldwide for termite control.

Termidor and Premise do NOT have an obnoxious odour or emit airborne residues. Termidor and Premise
represent modern technology….they are NOT organ chlorine or organophosphate pesticides.

Some alternative termiticides have a strong repellency action to deter foraging termites. Whereas Termidor
and Premise are non‐ repellant to the termites. Termites can enter the treated soil barrier without detecting
the Termidor or Premise chemical. The repellant nature of some alternative products mean the termites can
detect and move along the soil barrier seeking a gap to gain entry into the building.

Premise has been used as soil treatment barrier against termites for more than eight years in the world with
excellent results for long term termite control. We are not aware of any significant problems during this
period.

Premise will act to kill termites, in the higher concentration treated soil areas abutting the building. With
premise, termites that forage in the lower concentrated treated soil areas, will become disoriented, stop
feeding and are fatally diseased by natural fungi and micro‐organisms in the soil.

The Premise Imidacloprid product works quite differently from other termiticide active ingredients. Most
other termiticides are repellants, which means they keep termites away from a treated area, rather than,
killing them. This means a gap in the barrier is more easily detected by the termites, a major short‐coming of
the old‐fashioned termite control alternatives.

Termites tunneling in the treated soil area abutting the building (of high concentration ‐ near the point of
application) are killed outright.

Termites tunneling in the outer parts of a Premise treated soil area ( Of low concentration ) will not detect
the Premise which adheres to their bodies and has a delayed lethal effect of several days – enough time to
be transferred back to the central colony nest.

After 250 million years of living underground, subterranean termites have evolved with a very thin waxy skin
(called an exoskeleton) that readily absorbs moisture.

The Premise Imidacloprid chemical adheres to the Termite exoskeleton and is readily absorbed through the
exoskeleton and into the termite’s body to immobilize and kill the affected termite within a few days.

The termites spread the Imidacloprid to other termites during regular physical contact, particularly when
working together in close proximity, grooming and feeding the rest of the colony, a regular function of their
daily life.

The termites cannot detect the Imidacloprid as it has no odour, taste or smell to the termites. Termites carry
away or cannibalize other dead termites, further spreading the deadly effect of the Imidacloprid chemical
throughout the colony.

Regular follow‐up inspections / monitoring is essential

PLEASE NOTE: the installation of a chemical soil barrier does not negate the need for regular competent inspections – at monthly intervals or at least 3 TO 6 months where the termite risk is high.

We usually recommend 3 or 6 monthly inspections be carried for the first 24 months following a chemical soil treatment.

Rapid termite colony development and building infestation is usually associated with a readily available timber
food and moisture source nearby the central nest. In addition buildings are often constructed in a way that
allows termites to gain undetectable entry from the soil to the structural timbers of the building. Listed below
are some useful recommendations for the home owner to carry out in order to reduce the risk of termite activity
inside a building.

Moisture exclusion from inside the wall cavities, around the base of the building and sub‐floor area (if any).
Water run‐off can be excluded from a subfloor area by the installation of appropriate system. Make sure
there is adequate cross flow ventilation in the sub‐floor area. In addition a qualified plumber should be
engaged to ensure there is no water leakage from plumbing pipes in the bathrooms, the shower recess,
Kitchen, down pipes, guttering and air conditioning unit overflow. Look for signs of dampness in the wall
cavities, broken roof tiles, faulty guttering and the like. Please note: High humidity, dampness or moisture
accumulating in a wall cavity is of high risk to encouraging large scale termite activity inside the building.

Removal of timber in contact with the soil. Timbers should be stored above ground to allow full inspection
of subterranean termite activity (coming from the soil there under. Any landscaping using timber chip mulch
and railway sleepers should definitely be removed, as they provide ready food source to assist in rapid
termite colony development.

Ensure inspection access is unimpeded, particularly in sub – floor areas (Suspended floors) in order to look
for evidence of termite activity. If your property is on a concrete slab on ground flooring, make sure you can
inspect the entire external slab edge for evidence of termite mud‐shelter tubes. Do NOT allow this area to
be covered by pavers, landscaping, planter pots, etc, as termites often gain entry into the walls of a building
via this locality, particularly through external weep holes and minute (2 mm) gaps in the mortar in brickwork.

Please Note
If you find live termites or termite damaged timbers DO NOT disturb the area. Don’t uses spray can or
insecticides on the termites. If sufficiently disturbed, the termites are likely to move elsewhere, and may not be
rediscovered until further obvious damage has been done. The termite controller can introduce intrigue termite
dust or termiticides directly to the live termites present in an attempt to eliminate the entire termite colony
discussed in detail above.